At the beginning, I would like to mention that this is a description of my Camino I walked in early September 2024, from Porto to Santiago de Compostela.
I'll start with the gear I had. The backpack was a 20-litre Decathlon backpack with a steel frame; after weighing it with the contents, it weighed 5.5 kg, which I consider a good weight. I took with me three sets of shirts, three pairs of shorts, three sets of underwear, a jacket, a sweatshirt, a bandana, a hat, a sleeping bag, a sleeping bag liner, and toiletries. Since I was travelling with my wife, we had the toiletries divided between the two of us, which saved us a few grams of weight. I did not use any transportation services.
Shoes are the most important part of a pilgrim's outfit; in my case, they were Asics Jolt 4 shoes. I paid around 40 euros for them, which seems like a small amount compared to what I saw on the feet of others (mostly HOKA).
A bit about the physical aspects: I'm 29 years old and it was physically easy; I managed to get by without any blisters. I used mint-scented foot powder - I sprinkled it on my feet every morning and put on socks. Thanks to this, I avoided blisters and unpleasant odours from my shoes. The only thing I lacked was Voltaren, which helped with knee pain (it appeared already on the second day).
Now a bit about my expectations and what I found on the spot. I chose September 1st not without reason - in my country, the school year begins, there is more traffic on the roads and many people everywhere. In addition, the weather can already be deteriorating; in Portugal, where I was in September three years ago, the weather was beautiful, hence the choice fell on the coastal route. The arrival and first surprise: the whole city is in fog and cold! Everything is damp and no sun. But okay, maybe it's just today; as it turned out later, this fog followed us to Viana do Castelo.
Day 1: Night in an albergue. I learned that Asians also snore, and Italians can search for something in their bags after 10 pm for an incredibly long time. I managed to fall asleep. I wake up full of energy, but also with anxiety - foggy Porto is not the city I remembered. We set off towards Vila do Conde; most of the route leads along boardwalks along the ocean shore. It's blowing hard, and the wind brings rain, which begins to lower morale. It turns out that what was supposed to be a pleasure becomes a difficulty - the further from the ocean, the nicer the weather; Vila do Conde was warm and sunny.
Day 2: I think I got a chill - my throat starts to hurt, but I keep going. Today's goal is Esposende or Marinhas. The route begins to bore me: it's cold, windy, and raining a bit; with no sun and fog. I was supposed to get a tan and rest! And here God shows me that I can plan all I want, but He has the last word on what will happen to me. The day proved to be difficult; we managed to reach Fao. Since I hadn't booked anything until then, there was no place for us in the Albergue. Luckily, this time we got lucky - there is a camper van that we share with a Hungarian and a Dutch woman.
Day 3: It's even worse - sore throat and runny nose. Nevertheless, we keep going; the stage is long - almost 32 km - and it's windy all the time, even though it has cleared up and the sun is visible! It's still not the weather for shorts. I thought it couldn't get any worse. We reach Viana do Castelo.
Day 4: This stage is supposed to be a rest - only 7 km planned. Nice weather, but my throat hurts more than ever. In the store, I saw my favourite pastel de bacalhau and bought a yoghurt that helped me with my sore throat. You can probably guess how it ended - my body didn't take to this combination and somewhere behind Aerosa I had to urgently look for bushes because the bacalhau wanted to leave my body in two ways. Luckily I reached Carreço; a private room and the incredible hospitality of the host helped me recover. I consider this day to be the worst on the Camino and the best at the same time - I can't explain it.
Day 5: I keep as far away from the coast as possible; the goal is Seixas. I have made peace with the Camino and accept it as it is; although I still can't get over the fact that I'm cold in Portugal.
Day 6: The wind is over! We start walking along the Mino River (Escovia). According to the recommendation, we choose the route along the shore for two reasons: it's as flat as a pancake and there is still no sun, so we want to reach Spain as soon as possible - after all, it can't be cold there! We reach Tui and what? It's raining...
Day 7: Today is the longest stage on the entire Camino: Tui - Cesantes 34 km. We reach the most beautiful hostel on the entire Camino "A Dársena do Francés". The average Google rating is 4.6 - so it won't be bad! It's really clean: a beautiful garden with a view and good bathrooms; breakfast included... but what's the point when there were bedbugs?
Day 8: I was spared (I slept upstairs), but my other half was bitten, which means we will be smearing those bites until Santiago. We pass the beautiful city of Arcade; the weather is nice now although the temperature is not very warm - 22 degrees - but maybe it's better that we're not sweating. We reach Pontevedra on Sunday; most shops are closed. What annoys us most in Spain is the siesta - we usually finish our march around 3 pm, so after unpacking and washing up, there's no chance of eating something in a restaurant. Today we eat pizza, our favorite Hawaiian! We are very happy because Domino's Pizza has a refill. We do laundry in municipal laundries: for 6 euros we can fully wash and dry laundry in 45 minutes.
Day 9: A beautiful scent of grapes accompanies us all the way to Santiago; along the way we pass a leisurely grape harvest. I begin to recognize people who pass me; many acquaintances pass me by because I don't speak Spanish or Portuguese and it's a pity. Today we sleep in Caldas de Reyes.
Day 10: The kilometres are decreasing; the 260 km I saw at the beginning seems so far away! I'm surprised I managed to walk so much; but I know I wouldn't have made it without my wife - after all, she lifted my spirits in harder moments.
Day 11: Padron – Santiago; the Camino Ninja app shows 18 km which turns out to be untrue – the signs say 24 km and Strava app 25.6 km. We do the last stage with a compatriot who is walking with an intention for his wife's health. I realize that on my own, without an intention, I would have given up long ago and taken a train to the destination; but my own intentions and those of others that I carried helped me fight the burden of the journey. I know for sure that I wouldn't have done this for sport.
I wrote this with all of you in mind, as I really enjoy reading the descriptions of your Caminos
If something is unclear, please ask because I used a translator
I'll start with the gear I had. The backpack was a 20-litre Decathlon backpack with a steel frame; after weighing it with the contents, it weighed 5.5 kg, which I consider a good weight. I took with me three sets of shirts, three pairs of shorts, three sets of underwear, a jacket, a sweatshirt, a bandana, a hat, a sleeping bag, a sleeping bag liner, and toiletries. Since I was travelling with my wife, we had the toiletries divided between the two of us, which saved us a few grams of weight. I did not use any transportation services.
Shoes are the most important part of a pilgrim's outfit; in my case, they were Asics Jolt 4 shoes. I paid around 40 euros for them, which seems like a small amount compared to what I saw on the feet of others (mostly HOKA).
A bit about the physical aspects: I'm 29 years old and it was physically easy; I managed to get by without any blisters. I used mint-scented foot powder - I sprinkled it on my feet every morning and put on socks. Thanks to this, I avoided blisters and unpleasant odours from my shoes. The only thing I lacked was Voltaren, which helped with knee pain (it appeared already on the second day).
Now a bit about my expectations and what I found on the spot. I chose September 1st not without reason - in my country, the school year begins, there is more traffic on the roads and many people everywhere. In addition, the weather can already be deteriorating; in Portugal, where I was in September three years ago, the weather was beautiful, hence the choice fell on the coastal route. The arrival and first surprise: the whole city is in fog and cold! Everything is damp and no sun. But okay, maybe it's just today; as it turned out later, this fog followed us to Viana do Castelo.
Day 1: Night in an albergue. I learned that Asians also snore, and Italians can search for something in their bags after 10 pm for an incredibly long time. I managed to fall asleep. I wake up full of energy, but also with anxiety - foggy Porto is not the city I remembered. We set off towards Vila do Conde; most of the route leads along boardwalks along the ocean shore. It's blowing hard, and the wind brings rain, which begins to lower morale. It turns out that what was supposed to be a pleasure becomes a difficulty - the further from the ocean, the nicer the weather; Vila do Conde was warm and sunny.
Day 2: I think I got a chill - my throat starts to hurt, but I keep going. Today's goal is Esposende or Marinhas. The route begins to bore me: it's cold, windy, and raining a bit; with no sun and fog. I was supposed to get a tan and rest! And here God shows me that I can plan all I want, but He has the last word on what will happen to me. The day proved to be difficult; we managed to reach Fao. Since I hadn't booked anything until then, there was no place for us in the Albergue. Luckily, this time we got lucky - there is a camper van that we share with a Hungarian and a Dutch woman.
Day 3: It's even worse - sore throat and runny nose. Nevertheless, we keep going; the stage is long - almost 32 km - and it's windy all the time, even though it has cleared up and the sun is visible! It's still not the weather for shorts. I thought it couldn't get any worse. We reach Viana do Castelo.
Day 4: This stage is supposed to be a rest - only 7 km planned. Nice weather, but my throat hurts more than ever. In the store, I saw my favourite pastel de bacalhau and bought a yoghurt that helped me with my sore throat. You can probably guess how it ended - my body didn't take to this combination and somewhere behind Aerosa I had to urgently look for bushes because the bacalhau wanted to leave my body in two ways. Luckily I reached Carreço; a private room and the incredible hospitality of the host helped me recover. I consider this day to be the worst on the Camino and the best at the same time - I can't explain it.
Day 5: I keep as far away from the coast as possible; the goal is Seixas. I have made peace with the Camino and accept it as it is; although I still can't get over the fact that I'm cold in Portugal.
Day 6: The wind is over! We start walking along the Mino River (Escovia). According to the recommendation, we choose the route along the shore for two reasons: it's as flat as a pancake and there is still no sun, so we want to reach Spain as soon as possible - after all, it can't be cold there! We reach Tui and what? It's raining...
Day 7: Today is the longest stage on the entire Camino: Tui - Cesantes 34 km. We reach the most beautiful hostel on the entire Camino "A Dársena do Francés". The average Google rating is 4.6 - so it won't be bad! It's really clean: a beautiful garden with a view and good bathrooms; breakfast included... but what's the point when there were bedbugs?
Day 8: I was spared (I slept upstairs), but my other half was bitten, which means we will be smearing those bites until Santiago. We pass the beautiful city of Arcade; the weather is nice now although the temperature is not very warm - 22 degrees - but maybe it's better that we're not sweating. We reach Pontevedra on Sunday; most shops are closed. What annoys us most in Spain is the siesta - we usually finish our march around 3 pm, so after unpacking and washing up, there's no chance of eating something in a restaurant. Today we eat pizza, our favorite Hawaiian! We are very happy because Domino's Pizza has a refill. We do laundry in municipal laundries: for 6 euros we can fully wash and dry laundry in 45 minutes.
Day 9: A beautiful scent of grapes accompanies us all the way to Santiago; along the way we pass a leisurely grape harvest. I begin to recognize people who pass me; many acquaintances pass me by because I don't speak Spanish or Portuguese and it's a pity. Today we sleep in Caldas de Reyes.
Day 10: The kilometres are decreasing; the 260 km I saw at the beginning seems so far away! I'm surprised I managed to walk so much; but I know I wouldn't have made it without my wife - after all, she lifted my spirits in harder moments.
Day 11: Padron – Santiago; the Camino Ninja app shows 18 km which turns out to be untrue – the signs say 24 km and Strava app 25.6 km. We do the last stage with a compatriot who is walking with an intention for his wife's health. I realize that on my own, without an intention, I would have given up long ago and taken a train to the destination; but my own intentions and those of others that I carried helped me fight the burden of the journey. I know for sure that I wouldn't have done this for sport.
I wrote this with all of you in mind, as I really enjoy reading the descriptions of your Caminos
If something is unclear, please ask because I used a translator